My relationship with Mary, like that of many women, is complicated. Mary embodies some of my most deeply held values. As a young, poor woman from Galilee, she represents how God chose to enter into human existence in the most radically humble way. Her “Magnificat” is one of the most powerful passages in the Gospels. Read more
Claims of appearances of the Virgin Mary and weeping statues have been common in Catholicism. Now they will get a closer look – but on a worldwide scale. The Pontificia Academia Mariana Internationalis, or PAMI, recently announced an “observatory” to investigate claims of appearances of the Virgin Mary and reports of statues of her weeping Read more
December tends to be the busiest month of the year, but beneath the advertising, shopping, tinsel, and Christmas trees, there is a profound stillness. The Christ child is sleeping in the arms of his mother. The silence that gathers around them ushers in a new world. Mary is not aware of this, but we who Read more
Spiritually, we are all called to be pregnant with God and to give birth to Christ in the world. Men and women alike, this is our mission, and the mother of Jesus gives an outline of what that birthing is all about. Scripture doesn’t offer a lot of information about Mary. But if we look Read more
The Assumption matters because it reminds us, with almost embarrassing boldness, of the shocking materiality of Catholic belief in the afterlife—a facet of our faith that we’d often rather forget. Most of us learn something like this in catechism: At the end of our lives we will all be judged by God. Depending on the Read more
Lil Nas X, Bad Bunny and Princess Nokia all work their spirituality into their music, but you’re not likely to think of them as virginal. They are nonetheless helping to spread a craze for Mary, mother of Jesus, wearing designer Brenda Equihua’s splashy coats made from San Marcos cobijas: blankets found in many Latinx homes that Read more
Aotearoa New Zealand’s Catholic bishops are seeking an artist to create artwork commemorating Bishop Jean-Baptiste Pompallier’s 1838 dedication of the country to Mary the Mother of Jesus. The bishops’ National Liturgy Office has begun advertising for an artist who will create a work incorporating Mary for a special commemoration next August 15, the Feast Day Read more
A new Vatican group backed by Pope Francis is taking a whack at stopping Mafia members from exploiting the Virgin Mary and other Catholic imagery in order to recruit members and whitewash their dark underworld image. Read more
As we prepare to celebrate Holy Week and Easter within the Christian tradition and persons clamour to post and then log onto opportunities to experience a “virtual” Easter, I would like to offer an alternative and that is to do nothing. Or, rather, experience “absence” in a very real way. The absence that Mary and Read more
There is a story about Mary, that she was stitching a cloth for the tabernacle when Gabriel visited her. Maybe. Maybe not. She could have been sweeping the floor. Or grinding corn for a meal. Those activities can also be sacred. We are reminded of times when God has been manifest in simple household tasks. Read more